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Bodies in Motion, a Pilates and Gyrotonic exercise studio, is open at 80 Grove St. in Ridgefield. For more information, call 203-438-0465 or visit www.nimct.com.

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By most standards, Christine Churchill is pretty active -- she plays hockey and squash, and practices tae kwon do and Pilates.

But at 48, she's realistic enough to know her career on the hockey rink or martial arts mat may not stretch on indefinitely.

Which is why, for the last year, she's begun Gyrotonic.

"I want to learn it now rather than starting it in my 60s," said Churchill, of Pound Ridge, N.Y. "I figure if I can do Gyrotonic when I'm 70, I will be a very healthy person."

To learn it, she's turned to Julie Hurgin, who has opened Bodies in Motion, a Pilates and Gyrotonic studio on Grove Street in Ridgefield.

"It's very one-on-one," Churchill said. "Julie's very enthusiastic, she's very well trained, and she understands the body."

Like Churchill, Hurgin says Gyrotonic is the exercise method that has moved her, psychologically as well as physically.

"The first time I tried it, I thought `This is crazy,'" Hurgin, 31, said. "But right away I was hooked."

Gyrotonic is an exercise modality started by Juliu Horvath, an ethnic Hungarian born in Romania.

A professional ballet dancer, Horvath's dancing career ended with a torn Achilles' tendon and a herniated disk. He then began to develop a series of exercises combining both dancers' training and yoga that became Gyrotonic. He opened his first studio to teach it in 1982.

Hurgin said Gyrotonic has elements of yoga, gymnastics and dance, along with swimming and tai chi.

"It's very popular in New York City," Hurgin said. "A lot of dancers use Gyrotonic. It's good for people who play tennis and golf."

Hurgin, who is certified to teach both Pilates and Gyrotonic and has the apparatus to teach both in her studio, explained the difference between the two.

Pilates, she said, is linear. It emphasizes straight-lined, up and down movements. Gyrotonic, she said, is circular. It forces the body to stretch itself, strengthening muscles and connective tissues at the same time.

"It's elongating,'' Churchill said.

Hurgin said the exercise system can help prevent injuries. It's been used to rehabilitate people who have muscular-skeletal problems.

"I've had doctors refer me patients with herniated discs," Hurgin said. "The stretching helps to relieve pressure on the disc."

"I had some shoulder pain when I started Gyrotonic," Churchill said. "It's not why I started it, but I noticed after a couple of weeks that the pain had gone away."